Gathering the Storm
by Gumby1011
Summary: It's been a year since the period of turmoil that saw Team Rocket, Team Aqua, and Team Magma all defeated. But there are some people from the syndicates that don't want to slink back into anonymity. When these struggling covert factions all decide to lay claim to the Kanto region, two upstart trainers will decide to take a stand, and prepare their home for the coming storm.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

"-ve reason to believe that Team Rocket has officially taken over all of Saffron City, as well as the Silph Co. building. The Kanto Police Force remains on high alert and advises that all trainers and travelers should NOT enter the city! I repeat-"

"-olcanic activity observed in the Mt. Chimney area are unprecedented, according to local geologists. Residents and travelers alike are urged to vacate the area. In related news, rumors of Team Magma sightings-"

"-a Pokemon smuggling ring has been discovered in the Celadon City Game Corner, led by Team Rocket. The police have pledged a full investigation into the matter and have-"

"-gone missing from Slateport Harbor. Investigators report that the evidence indicated Team Aqua in the theft, although their motives for obtaining the vessel are unknown-"

"-peared to be broken into. Police are baffled as to why Team Rocket would steal a prototype, as the group has stood little to gain from such resear-"

"-various trainers are in an uproar over the damages caused when Teams Aqua and Magma clashed atop Mt. Pyre yesterday. Numerous graves were disturbed or damaged in the crossfire, in addition to the theft of the red and blue orbs, relics believed to-"

"-on Day 3 and the Police show no signs of progress. Team Rocket has one Mr. Fuji held captive for ransom and are asking for-"

"-winds here have never been like this. I've never seen a storm like this in all li- Wait, OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT?!"

* * *

_The world looked like it had been consigned to disaster. Three of the most powerful forces of chaos were struggling to gain control of the world. They wrought destruction on a world that was helpless to do nothing but sit back and watch. And yet… even in times like this, some believed there were things worth believing in._

* * *

"-rainer's identity remains unknown, but police officers and citizens in Saffron alike are grateful to his effor-"

"-revealed that Team Magma was indeed behind the seismic activity. While there have been a few eyewitness reports, none have been able to place the girl's identity. All that's known is that whoever this trainer is, the denizens of the Mt. Chimney area remains thankf-"

"-revealed by the same trainer that put an end to the Saffron incident a few weeks back. While not much is known about him, we were able to get a name from him: "Red." Whether or not this is an ali-"

"-nder the moniker "Sapphire" claims to be performing an independent investigation into the theft-"

"-has recovered the Silph scope, and returned it to it's rightful owner shortly before single-handedly apprehending the Rocket members responsible for Mr. Fuji's disappear-"

"-flict only ceased when Sapphire personally put down the remnants of both teams attempting to lay claim to the mountain. She was unavailable for comment, and soon thereafter left the scene in pursuit of the remaining criminals-"

"-Exposed Viridian Gym Leader Giovanni as the head of the Team Rocket criminal syndicate. after defeating the kingpin in battle, he was placed in the custody of the Kanto Police Force. Red is slated t-"

"-pears that two massive Pokemon are engaged in some sort of territorial struggle! I've never seen any like this before, they are absolutely massive! It's easy to see that, even from the news chop- HOLY-! Are you getting this? _Tell me you're getting this! _Viewers, it appears as though Sapphire has arrived at the battleground astride a gigantic green pokemon of an unknown kind-"

* * *

_There were two of them. One for each region in need of protection. The two accomplished much more than any had thought possible. They fought armies. They overthrew criminal masterminds. They struck a blow, mighty and righteous, that their homes would be saved. And it worked. They were celebrated as heroes. They were an inspiration._

* * *

The boy watched the small, static-filled television as the trainer in the red cap shouted another order. The Charizard rushed forward and leapt into air, before pouring a gout of flame from its maw, which roasted the Executor to the point of unconsciousness.

"Wow, look at that!" The boy chuckled as he patted the charmander watching beside him. "That's gonna be you someday!"

* * *

The girl watched the large static-filled television as the trainer in the blue bandanna screamed, and the green serpent surged forth, wreathed in energy. The pokemon slashed and clawed and bit, and eventually the red behemoth and the blue leviathan both trembled and staggered under the onslaught, before slinking from the scene indignantly.

The girl looked up at the screen, and heard the rain pounding on the roof of the pokemon center subside. Sunlight soon shown in through the windows, and the myriad people who had sought shelter there let out a collective sight. But the girl still watched, her squirtle perched on the couch behind her head, her eyes glued to the screen. "Wow…"

* * *

_And so, as two journeys drew to a dramatic and triumphant close, two more take their first breaths. _


	2. Chapter 2: First Missteps

"Leonardo! Attack him with your Water Gun!" she commanded in a strong voice to her Squirtle.

"Squirtle!" He responded with a jet of water flying out his mouth. His aim stayed true as Brock's Geodude took the hit and was knocked to ground from the force of the water Pokemon's attack.

The referee standing on the sidelines held up one of his flags. "Geodude is unable to battle! The match goes to Leonardo!" he announced to a roaring crowd. The image of the Geodude up on the match roster faded to a silhouette, signaling its defeat.

Okay, one down, one to go. C'mon, you can do this.

The trainer stood at the ready on her end of the arena: a battleground not unlike an ancient colosseum, with a packed-sand floor interspersed with rocky outcroppings. The 12-year-old girl stood in an orange t-shirt with red pants, with shoulder-length red hair and emerald green eyes. She'd been training for this battle for weeks, there was no way she could lose now!

Well, that was her mindset until Brock held up his last pokeball and threw it out into the arena, shouting "Go, Onix!"

A monstrous foe soon took form out of the burst of white light. The Rock snake Pokemon was huge compare to the little turtle. Ramona wavered just for a bit before Brock shouted "Pound, now!"

Onix let out a roar and swung down its tail down on the squirtle. Ramona barely had enough time to yell, "Leo, withdraw into your shell!"

Leonardo quickly retracted his limbs and his head into his small shell, just as the rock tail sent him flying into a small rock formation.

The trainer gritted her teeth. Even with its tough shell, a hit like that would have done some real damage. "Leo, follow up with your Water gun!" she ordered.

The shell shot up into the air just as Ramona's Squirtle brought itself back out and shot another jet of water into the rock pokemon's eyes. Brock grunted before shouting, "Come on, boy, hit 'em again!" Onix roared in anger as it made another swipe with its tail.

However, Leo wasn't fast enough to retreat into his shell. The large rocky tail smacked Leonardo across the gym floor and against the wall. The tiny pokemon tried to get up, but to no avail.

The crowd roared again as the ref passed judgement. "Leonardo is unable to battle! The match goes to Onix!"

Ramona brought out his PokeBall and called him back, "Leo, return!"

The Pokemon disappeared a flash of light as it retreated to its PokeBall and she pulled out another one. She hesitated a bit before sending it out, praying that all his training had paid off in the end.

"Okay, you can do this, Bo! Go get him!" she declared as she threw the green PokeBall. It opened and, in a flash of light, revealed her next Pokemon, much to the crowd's and the gym leader's, surprise. Its eyes were constantly closed, its mouth was in an unending smile and had red and blue roses for hands. "Roselia!" it said.

"Wow! I haven't seen one of those in ages!" she heard someone say in the crowd.

"Think she's been to the Hoenn region?" another audience member responded.

Ramona had expected the murmurs and whispers from the crowd. Roselia was a grass type that she found and caught during her trek in Viridian Forest. Normally, they were found near grassy areas and spring water in Hoenn, but finding one in Kanto was extremely rare.

"Well well, you're just full of surprises, aren't ya?" Brock laughed, taken a bit off guard by the foreign species. "Okay then, let's see what you've got!"

She shook it off upon hearing the gym leader's words. With renewed vigor, Ramona wasted no time in her attack plan, "Bo! Use your Stun Spore!"

At that moment, a yellow powder cloud came out of his rose and spread over the giant Rock pokemon like a blanket. Brock ordered "Onix! Hit it where it hurts! Rock Tomb!" The stone serpent lifted its head for a moment, before collapsing to the floor, unable to move.

"Finish it off with your Absorb attack!" Ramona commanded. Bouquet leapt into the air and landed with a surprising impact on top of the beast, before off-white orbs of light flew from the serpent and into the attacker's rosepetals. Again, it tried to shake the Roselia, but as the orbs drained Onix's remaining health it fell with a mighty crash to the gym floor.

"Onix is unable to battle! The Match goes to Bouquet! Ramona wins this battle!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and jubilation at Ramona's victory, one patron shouted, "One absorb. ONE Absorb! That was remarkable!"

She had done it…

"Hooee! Kid, that was a heck of a match!" Brock shouted as he recalled his Onix. "I tell ya, not many folks around here can fight like that anymore." He walked out to the center of the arena, meeting Ramona as she drifted, only half aware, to claim her prize. "Gonna be honest with you, I took you for granted! Guess it serves me right, haha! Anyways, I'm proud to bestow upon you this:"

He held out a small object, that looked like an octagonal prism of carved and polished stone. "The official Pokemon League Boulderbadge!" He patted the young trainer on the back just before handing it to her.

She got her first gym badge.

First thing she did was scream and jump in the air in celebration. Second thing she did was run to her Roselia and held it in a tight embrace, "Bo, that was amazing! I can't believe you got that Onix in one hit!"

"Roselia!" it smiled and cheered with her.

Little did 12-year-old Ramona know that someone was watching her in the crowd. Well, perhaps it was more accurate to say he was keeping an eye on that Roselia of hers. Healthy, reasonably difficult to obtain in this region, and obviously possessing vast potential in battle…

Oh yes, a specimen like that would fetch a fine price.

The figure stood and left the stands that were otherwise packed with cheering battle enthusiasts, and brought a pokegear to his ear as he left. "I think I've got a lead, boys."

Dressed in her her orange tank top and cotton pajama pants, Ramona sat in her bed in her room reading a book on Water-type pokemon. The gym leaders in Cerulean City had always used Water types and she needed to be prepared.

"Looks like Ned and Bo will be up for training," she mumbled to herself, sipping on some apple juice through a straw, "Should be Zubats in the caves, perfect training for Ned."

She had settled in for the night in the Pokemon center near the entrance to Mt. Moon. The second floor above held an inn for trainers while their Pokemon recuperated before the trek into the cave. She needed it though after a day of non-stop trainer battles, which she had won all of them. They had been worn out by the end of the day and needed to rest after her last battle. Her Pidgey, Aerial, suffered a nasty poison sting from a bug catcher's Weedle and she had run out of Antidotes in her pack.

Hence, the stay in the Pokemon center.

The redheaded girl sighed, closing the book before she turned on her PokeGear. With a few taps of her screen, she auto-dialed her mother's number. A few rings were heard before the phone picked up and a woman showed up on the video screen, "Hello?"

"Hey, mom, it's me," the trainer greeted, "Wanted to call before I went to sleep tonight."

The woman laughed, "Miss me already, huh?"

"Of course not!" She said almost a little too quickly, "maybe a little."

"I thought so," her mother teased, "So, how are you doing on your journey, Ramona?"

The trainer giggled and excitedly brought up her Boulder Badge for her mother to see, "I won my first gym badge yesterday! See?"

"That's my girl," her mother responded with a smile. Then she frowned, "Oh, I wish I was there to watch your fight, though. It's been busy here in Viridian City, what with all the trainers pushing their Pokemon too hard to fight the gym leader."

"It's okay, mom, you would've been proud, though," the trainer said, putting away her badge, "My Squirtle and Roselia beat the stuffing out of Brock's Pokemon. Bo defeated his Onix in one hit!"

Her mother quirked an eyebrow at her Roselia's name, "Bo?"

"My Roselia, his name's Bouquet, like a bouquet of flowers," Ramona tried to explain, "but I call him Bo for short."

"Seriously, you need to work on your names, sweetheart," she said, shaking her head, "So, are you heading to Cerulean City to get your next badge?"

"Yes, but I have to get through Mt. Moon first. I hope I'll catch a Clefairy while I'm in there!"  
"Mt. Moon?" her mother said worriedly, "I heard there's quite an infestation of Zubats in those caves lately. Did you remember to stock up on your repels?"

"Of course I did, Mom," her daughter assured her, "I would never forget something like that!"

Her mother fell silent and then sighed, "Alright then, try to be careful, sweetheart. Call me when you get to Cerulean City. Good night." With that, her mother ended the call.

Ramona stowed away her Pokegear, then cursed herself for not having repels. Then she turned on her bed and closed her eyes to go to sleep, 'I should be fine tomorrow. Totally fine."

* * *

"I AM NOT FINE!" she yelled while running with her Pikachu in tow, while a swarm of Zubats hovered and flew over her head, " Ned! Use your thundershock!"

"Pi-ka...CHU!" the electric mouse yelled as electricity cackled from his red cheeks and threw lightning at part of the swarm.

Her first impression of the cave hadn't actually been that bad. Inside was roomy, and there were other trainers loosely scattered about. On top of that, some sort of natural lighting kept the cave illuminated, a fact she'd been curious about. But… there was a catch. Turns out that Zubat don't take too kindly to living in a place with constant light.  
It meant, apparently, that they had a hard time ever fully going to sleep. And that made them… finicky. Or at least it would have, if finicky meant "liable to attack and eat anything not doused with a whole can of repel." She was suddenly very, very sorry for not following her mother's advice.

It didn't matter where she went in the cave. Zubats were just everywhere, as if they spawned from the walls. They stalked and hovered over the young trainer like a little rain cloud full of teeth, claws and endless screeching.

No matter how many times Ned used his Thundershock, they still kept coming, "Somebody help me!" She bellowed to no one particular.

Further down the cave, just out of earshot, worked a 14-year old boy in a green tank-top with blue jeans and green boots. He took another couple of hearty swings with a pickaxe before wiping some sweat from his brow. "Phew… Alrighty then. Molotov? Your turn," He muttered as he glanced down at the charmander standing beside him.

"Char, char!" The orange lizard piped, before stepping up to the outcropping and swinging with a now-glowing claw. After a few solid swings, an odd stone resembling a cast of an odd, dome-backed creature separated from the formation.

"Ohohoh!" The trainer chuckled. "Now that's a fossil! Eggheads down in Pewter will pay big money for this, I can tell!" He rubbed the charmander's head in praise before turning back to the stone. He focused in on an odd helix-shaped segment. "Just gotta get this swirly bit, and we'll be set to-"

"Help me!"

Curtis shot up, confused at the distant outburst. "What? That doesn't make any sense at-" he cut himself short when he saw a girl sprinting full-bore around a corner, a cloud of Zubat chasing her. "Oh. Tourists. I see." The boy dug into his little rucksack on the ground and dug out a pokeball and a can of repel. "Psymon, time for a special delivery!" He shouted before throwing the pokeball, releasing an Abra. He quickly gave the little creature the Repel to hold on to. "Get that to the tourist over there, capische?"

"Aaaaaabraaaaaa," the monster replied, sounding almost as if it were dozing off. But then it seemingly vanished from existence, only to appear in front of Ramona, hovering backwards with her pace and holding out the spray can to her. "Aaaaaabraaaa."

"What the-? What's Abra doing-EEK!" she screeched while one of the very many Zubats snapped at her with its fangs. She took the small can and dowsed herself in the spray while the swarm gradually retreated into the caves. The redhead turned around and saw that they were all gone.

She turned to the little Pokemon floating at head level, "Where did you come from, little guy?"

"Attempting to clear through Mt. Moon without any repellant. Rookie mistake, hate to see it," Curtis hollered before turning back to his work. "You now owe me two-hundred poke, by the way." He swung his pickaxe a couple more times, and the helix-shaped stone came loose. "Ah, there we go!" He tucked it away into his rucksack for safekeeping.

"Darn it, I thought I would be fine with my pikachu here," she said, bringing out her wallet and giving him the money to cover the Repel can, "Tch, fine, here's two hundred and...thanks for the help."

Curtis' eyes bulged for a moment as the girl turned and walked away. He'd meant that hypothetically, there'd have been no way for a kid that age to have that kind of money… right?

… maybe they really were as poor as his dad liked to joke.

After a moment, he shook his head and went back to his work. Or at least he would have, if he hadn't noticed a man's figure, dressed all in black, sticking to the shadows as it followed the redheaded girl.

… maybe that money's worth more investigation… he thought to himself, tailing the suspicious figure.

"Crap, I think we're lost," Ramona said to her pikachu, her head in a whirlwind of turmoil, "After being chased by those Zubats, I lost track of where I was going."

"Pika pika." the little mouse said, as if whining.

Ramona turned to her companion and noticed he was out of breath with a small cut on his hand, "You need to rest, Ned?"

"Pika."

"Alright, let's stop for a bit," She said wearily, sitting on a rock while her Pikachu hopped up on her lap, "All that running wore me out. Here, I need to see that cut." She reached into her brown leather bag and pulled out some food and a Potion spray bottle.

Maybe resting for a bit would help clear her head and eventually find an exit. She held an energy bar in her mouth while she gave some bits of Pokemon food to Ned. While he happily munched on a little nugget, she sprayed some of the liquid onto the cut. As it healed, she patted him on the head, "I'm sorry, Ned, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard."

"Pika-pi..." he said, as if accepting his owner's apology

For the first moment since she'd gotten into the cave, it seemed quiet. And, if it weren't for her relief at having the chance to rest, she might have found the silence suspicious. As it was, though, she didn't notice the noise of padded footsteps or faint slithering behind her.

She did however notice a small, brown, fluffy bird-pokemon flit down from above and land daintily on a stalagmite. It turned around to face her, large red eyes reflecting the cave's light faintly. "Hoo, Hooo-hooo." It cocked its head to the side as it hooted.

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion, finding a bird in a cave strange, "What's a bird pokemon like you doing in a cave like this?"

Before she could ponder further on the mystery, the tiny bird bent its leg and flung itself into the air, flapping its wings furiously as it flew clean over Ramona's shoulder, impacting with a thud into something just behind her. "Gah! What the-?"

She looked behind her to find a man dressed in black with a large red "R" on his chest. The Hoothoot pecked at the man's face repeatedly while he ordered, "Ekans! Get this stinkin' bird off me!"  
"What the-?!" Ramona sat up with a start with her Pikachu immediately jumping off her lap and landing on its feet, coming to his trainer's defense, "Who was that?!"

"Pika pika!"

In almost no time at all a large, purple snake about a metre and a half long sprang from the ground and hit the owl, coiling around the bird pokemon before falling back to the ground. The yellow rattle on it's tail hissed menacingly as the hoot-hoot gasped for air. The man lunged forward at Ramona, a scowl on his face. "I'll be taking everything ya got, kid." he clenched his fists as he spoke, towering over the child. "No need for this to get ugly, now."

"Ned! Quick attack!"

"Pika!" The mouse swiftly hit her assailant in the stomach, causing him collapse on his knees and favor his stomach.

Ramona brought out a Pokeball and threw it near the Ekans, "Aerial! Use your gust attack on that Ekans!"

The little bird flew over and sent a gust a wind using its wings, blowing the snake off the owl pokemon and sending it crashing into the rock wall.

A Pokeball flew from a random direction and hit the owl pokemon, recalling it as it bounced back to an expectant hand. A hand belonging to that mining boy from earlier. "Go, Maine!" the trainer shouted as he threw a pokeball, releasing a Wigglytuff onto the cavern floor. The boy walked forward towards the criminal, giving a cocky smirk that was mirrored by his pink, fluffy pokemon. "Now, you gonna clear out, or am I gonna hafta have my boy here drag you out?" He pointed a thumb at Maine as he said this.

The man, on the other hand just raised an eyebrow at Curtis's "boy." "Seriously? that's your intimidation pokemon?" he smirked as he climbed to his feet. "You got guts, kid. I'll give ya that." The man whistled shrilly, and three other men brandishing pokeballs stepped out of the cave's shadows, dressed exactly like the first man. "Now, are you gonna run along, or am I gonna hafta have my boys cold-clock ya?"

Curtis just grinned and glanced at Ramona. "Whadda you think, Red?" he asked.

"I say, NED! Use your quick attack!" She proclaimed before she ordered, "Aerial! Use your tackle!"

The flying bird rose to the air and smacked one of the grunts in the face, "ARGH, my face!" Ramona's Pikachu jumped at another assailant at his stomach.

Curtis just glanced sideways at Maine. "Well? Do your thing, man."

One of the remaining criminals threw down a Pokeball, releasing a Rattata, but it was a bit late by then. Maine sprinted at the foe, an oddly dark expression on his big, fluffy face. The Balloon pokemon wound up a kick, and his foot began glowing white. When he finally lashed out, he punted the Rattata with enough force to send it flying into its trainer, and its momentum flung them both into a rock outcropping, cracking it down the middle and leaving them both unconscious. Maine slid to a halt, then inflated his face slightly before chirping "Tuff!" in a voice all too high-pitched for the situation.

Ramona looked stunned at the cute pokemon's fighting display and unusual angry expression, "I've never seen a Fairy-type fight like that. How...and where did he learn how to do that?"

"Hm?" Curtis glanced over at the redhead. "Oh, there're these two black belts that live on the opposite end of the cave. Taught him everything they know. They constantly bicker, though, must've rubbed off on him." He shrugged as he spoke.

"I...see," the female trainer said, extending a hand, "Thank you...for saving me there...again. I wouldn't have noticed them if it weren't for your Pokemon. I don't think I caught your name, actually."

"Ah, that'd be Curtis!" The boy did a sloppy salute. "Curtis Bonomo, at your service!" then he snapped his hand down and shook hers, excitedly. "And who does that make you? Can't just keep callin' ya Red, that's what that other guy was named!" he shot with a wink.

"Oh, I'm Ramona Cassidy. I'm a Pokemon trainer from Pallet Town, heading to Cerulean City for my second gym badge. I think the journey got off to a rocky start...no pun intended." she said with a bit of frown as she looked at the men on the ground, "I knew the Zubats would be a problem, but I'd never thought Team Rocket would show up here."

"Meh, those jerks seem to spring up wherever there's money to be made." he shook his head before holding out a hand. "Maine, if you would be so kind?"

The Wigglytuff bounced over to the trainer and handed him a permanent black marker. "Tuff!"

"Thank ya, kindly." Curtis smiled before popping open the marker and putting some nice face-graffiti on the KO'd Rockets. "It's hard enough to make ends meet out here without these guys stealing our livelihood!"

"You collect fossils here?" Ramona asked, curious about Curtis' job and the fossils he had collected in his rucksack.

"Pretty much…" Curtis rose from drawing a rather inappropriate anatomical diagram on the last Grunt's face before tucking the marker away. "Demand never goes down. Pewter appraises the fossils, then ships them out to Cinnabar Island, you see. Sciencey-types down there just can't seem to get enough! Problem is, our supplies are running dry. We're almost out of fossils to dig up, no thanks to the Rockets!"

"Why don't you become a Pokemon trainer? You seem to have a good grasp of fighting with them," she said, remembering his Wigglytuff in battle, 'and I'm sure you can get some cash from winning a few battles."

"Waitaminute, I'm a miner, not a mugger!" Curtis blurted, holding his hands up.

"No, no, no," she quickly said, attempting to clarify what she meant, "I mean, every time you win a Pokemon battle, you get a reasonable sum of money in return from the trainer. With Maine, you'd get some in no time."

The trainer put a hand to his chin, as he lapsed deep into thought. Money has been gettin' awful scarce… and here this chick is tossing cash to the wind like there's no tomorrow… If I could get this to work, I might be able to get us all tickets to Oreburgh in Shinnoh! Coal never runs out there, I hear! At the very least, I can make sure we all keep eating while we find new work…

"That actually sounds like a great idea!" Curtis declared. "Oh, man, I gotta let the folks know, right away!" He flipped out a dingy, rusted old pokegear, one of the practically ancient models with the green-backed LCD display. He punched in a phone number by hand before holding it up to his ear. "... Hello? Hey, pops! Yeah, got the fossils, but I've got some great news..." The boy walked away for a few moments, leaving Ramona to her own business.

Ramona went back to the men knocked out cold with permanent marker all over their faces. Curtis mentioned that they'd do anything to make a profit, whether it was digging up fossils by the dozens or stealing rare Pokemon. Why would they try to mug a 12-year-old girl in a dark cave? Sure she had a lot of cash from her previous victories before heading into Mt. Moon, but she didn't have any rare Poke-

"Oh." she said when the realization dawned on her as she remembered a dark figure leaving the stands back in Pewter City. She brought out the green PokeBall that housed her Roselia, "They were after Bo?"

"Alright, the folks bought it!" Curtis announced as he hung up on his pokegear. "Looks like from this day forward I'm gonna be makin' them bills, haha!" Then he paused for a minute. "Say, I couldn't help but notice you seemed a little lost earlier. You need help finding the exit?"

She shook herself out of her thought at Curtis' question, "I guess I do. I'm not familiar with this cave and I need to rest at a Pokemon Center. Plus I think Ned needs to be looked at, he looks exhausted." Ramona recalled her Pikachu and Pidgey to their respective PokeBalls and before turning to Curtis and saying, "Thanks again by the way."

"Oh, it ain't no problem!" the miner shot with a smile. "'S what respectable folk are supposed to do, right?" He put a hand to his chin, ther turned around a couple times. "Now, if memory serves, the main exit to Cerulean will beeeee… Thatta way!" He pointed down a tunnel as he said this. "Well, let's get to it! Ain't no time like the present!"

It took a while to navigate the tunnels, but they were making progress. Ramona had brought out her Squirtle just in case of Zubats and Rockets alike while Curtis led the way. "So," she said, trying to make conversation with her newfound companion, "where did you get all your Pokemon from?"

"Well, let's see…" Curtis took a moment to gather his thoughts. Remembering really wasn't one of his strong suits. "I found Molotov first, poor little guy was abandoned in some corner of the cave, pokeball and all! I found some jenked Pokeballs next to him too, that Dad was able to fix up, you see. I found Hooters wandering about one night, looking completely lost, snagged Psymon when he teleported right in front of me, imagine that! And Maine, well, I caught Maine just while I was out and about, y'see. Mountain's crawlin' with jigglypuffs. And then one day he dug a moonstone out of the wall while we were excavating. evolved right then and there, haha!"

Curtis folded his arms and sighed. "Anyways, they've been good friends, and it's always nice to have a couple helping hands with the work, y'know?"

"Hmm, it seems you've got a quite a team to start with, Curtis," Ramona quipped, before she started talking about her own, "I started in Pallet Town. Leo, my Squirtle was my first Pokemon. I got him from my next door neighbor Professor Oak. I caught my Pidgey, Aerial, on my way to Viridian City and Ned at the start of Viridian Forest. Then there's Bouquet or Bo, for short. He's a Roselia I caught near the exit of the forest. I thought it was strange that it was so far from Hoenn, but I wanted to catch it. It even helped me get my first gym badge! See?" She showed her Boulderbadge to Curtis, before she quickly composed herself, "Sorry, I get a little excited, but it always been my dream to become a Pokemon trainer, like my mom!"

"Oh? And who would that be?" The miner cocked his head to the side. "Any chance I've heard of her?"

"Nora Cassidy, she's retired now, runs her own Pokemon center in Viridian," Ramona said, her green eyes beaming with excitement, "She helps injured Pokemon with her own Blissey. i'm hoping to catch my own Chansey one day."

"Oh, that's nice…" Curtis shrugged as he rounded the last corner into the sunlight. Privately, the thought to himself the hell's a Chansey? "Welp, here we are!" the miner announced as the two strode into the open. "See? not so hard, if you know your way around!

"I've been so happy to see sunlight in all my life," She pulled out her own Pokegear, a white one with orange trim, and consulted her digital map, "Hmm, Cerulean City's straight ahead? This should be an easy trek."

Curtis just looked down at his own pokegear, and tried to convince it to display a map, as well. "Uhhhhm… yeah, that sounds about right." he pushed one last button, and the device just sparked angrily in response. "Yeah, that's the right way. For certain."

The redhead glanced down at his PokeGear and inspected it, "Hmm, maybe we should get you a new one. This looks like it's seen better days. How long have you had this?"

"Well let's see… Dad gave it to me when he found a new one, and said he bought iiiiiit… seven years ago?" Curtis shrugged as he looked at it. "It was before they revamped the Sylph Co. logo, for sure…"

Ramona stared down at the rusted, broken down, alleged "PokeGear" and sighed, "We're getting a new one in Cerulean. We'll fight some trainers on the way there and pool our money together."

Curtis just shook his head at the thought. "Nah, what goods a person who can't buy their own stuff?" he just chuckled. "It's cool, I got this."

"If you say so, Curtis," she said, showing her own, "The one I have was last year's model, but it's not too expensive. If you pool your money together and save it, you can probably get a decent one."

"Sounds good to me…" the miner, however, just sort of shifted his weight awkwardly. "Um… yeah. Hey, let's go do stuff!" he piped suddenly.

"Huh?" the trainer tilted her head with confusion on her face, "Do stuff? Cerulean's just up the road. You...can get there on your own, right?"

"Yeah, sure!" He took a few step forward, before pausing. "... Totally. Yeah, no problem, i got this!"

Then realization struck the 12 year-old girl, as she acted like that when first leaving Pallet Town, "You've never actually been to the city there, have you?"

The boy froze at the suggestion, before turning around, sheepishly. "Yeeeeeaaaaaaaa-nooope."

"I see," she said, contemplating in her head before reaching a decision with a nod, "Would you like to come with me to Cerulean and the other places in Kanto? I could use a traveling companion."

"YEAH I would!" Curtis jumped up in excitement. "... now let's get going. Seriously, I'm getting bored."

"Alright, alright," Ramona said, leading the way with her finger pointed to Cerulean City, "Let's do this!"


End file.
